LETTER: Keep housing affordable

Re: House prices to rise: CMHC, Abbotsford and Mission need to act now before they become the fiasco that is now Vancouver, and which is spilling over into Surrey and even Langley.

If house prices rise to those levels, young people and young families will start leaving, and greater pressure will be placed on citizens renting at the lower end. In the news we hear of more tent cities, people living in crowded housing situations, seniors in cars and low-income folk couch surfing.

Housing is being treated as a global commodity – that is, as safe haven for foreign investors worried about the stability of their own economies. Money laundering and fraud is rampant. If the idea of ghost neighbourhoods and rampant tear-downs of starter homes worries you, learn from Vancouver’s woes.

There are ideas and initiatives being floated around that could work. The BC Housing Affordability Fund (BCHAF) is one initiative that should be considered.

To start, check out the Urban Studies forum at SFU online – Mapping the Hedge City: Vancouver and Global Capital. Get informed and be proactive in keeping housing affordable for local citizens.